Ann’s mission is to galvanise growth in new economic zone

Quaker Dr Ann Limb OBE DL, 58, from Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire, has been appointed as the unpaid head of South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) and took up the reins officially on Friday.

The partnership covers an area including Aylesbury and Northampton. Dr Limb is well known in the Milton Keynes area and has been a champion for that part of the world. She is aware she could face criticism for potential favouritism but says it is not the case.

Dr Limb, has a strong ethical basis to her views on business. She said: “I am 100 per cent behind wealth creation. What really matters is what you do with the money.

“Quaker businesses have a great tradition in this country, the early banks, Clarks Shoes. I am all for making money!”

But Quakers, said Ann, also have a strong commitment to businesses with a purpose of enhancing social justice and of being trustworthy. She aims to “live up to those values.”

Plain speaking Dr Limb is also known as a passionate champion of Milton Keynes through her work leading the new city’s failed World Cup host bid.

Her close association with Milton Keynes is something Ann is acutely aware of and it was raised at her interview for the post. How will she be able to represent other parts of the SEMLEP patch?

“Whoever chairs SEMLEP would come from somewhere in the region,” said Ann, who is Buckinghamshire’s deputy lieutenant. “I think the way of dealing with it is to acknowledge I am someone who really cares about and is passionate about promoting people or regions I believe in. Our region has some fantastic businesses and places in it.”

As well as wearing various hats, Dr Limb is also currently a non-executive director of Milton Keynes based company DRS Data Research and Services, a leader in scanning technologies.

She also holds directorships of two other enterprises in the South East Midlands area – briteyellow, a super fast broadband provider and Skills2Learn, an award-winning company that develops e-learning, virtual reality, and creative multimedia solutions.

She has also founded two successful social enterprises – the Women Leadership Network and sits on the national council of the Institute of Directors and was responsible for the successful implementation of the UK government’s flagship e-learning initiative learndirect.

So clearly, she’s someone who knows how to multi-task in a major way!

SEMLEP is a partnership body made up of a board of 12 directors drawn equally from the private and public sectors. It will be appointing a paid chief executive in time with the aim of creating vital jobs and growth in the local economy. It has already attracted money into the region..

Dr Limb, whose first experience of business was as a three-year-old helping out in her dad’s butcher’s shop, sees her role as being an advocate and champion for the region. “It’s about getting government to come to the region,” she said.